The Regina Folk Festival has become a mainstay on the summer entertainment schedule in the Queen City with its three days of main stage entertainment.

And while the main stage — which features nationally and internationally renowned artists — is a major attraction for patrons, the festival offers much more. In fact, the free programming that is available on Saturday and Sunday has become a vital part of the festival yet it doesn’t seem to attract the attention that the main stage performances get.

“No, not at all,” said Sandra Butel, the festival’s artistic director and CEO, with a laugh. “It’s an interesting balance between the main stage, which is ticketed, and the day time, which is free, because in order for the day time to be free, people have to buy the main stage tickets. It’s always been this thing where people know about it and the numbers are getting higher there but there’s a delicate financial balance where we need people to contribute to that.”

The daytime programming includes performances on four stages — three Sunlit stages along with a children’s stage — along with a children’s arts and craft tent, food vendors, arts and goods vendors, a beer garden and a number of visual art experiences.

“The biggest goal of the festival is whole thematics around inclusivity and being able to offer stuff for everybody and the day time programming is a perfect example of that,” said Butel. “The diversity of the audience we see during the day is much greater than what we see at night. The free day time allows us to make it a welcoming place for everybody and that’s very important to us. We’ve been working really hard to find new sources of funding. We started a donor campaign, for those who actually afford it, they can contribute to that and make sure that it still exists for people that can’t afford a ticket.”

Funding the free programming has become more of a challenge for the festival in recent years. Previously it was assumed that some people would begin attending the festival during the day time and then become a ticket patron for the main stage.

Canadian music icon Bruce Cockburn will be one of the headliners at the 2018 Regina Folk Festival. Daniel Keebler photo

“That used to happen a lot more in the past but given the financial situation that we’re all in, we’re seeing the opposite,” said Butel. “We’re seeing people go, ‘Well, I can see everything I like during the day for free.’ Last year we had way more programming because it was 150th anniversary (of Canada), so we had a lot more free programming so we saw a lot of people who would normally be inside the gate just there during the day. It was like, ‘We have to let you know that you, who can afford it and can support the festival, don’t put any money into us, we might have to stop doing this.’ It’s really important that we do this, it’s the biggest part of our mandate.

“It’s a fine line. It’s a balance where it’s time to let our audience know that the day time stuff is really critical to us but also wanting to know that it’s critical to our audience too and that the money is there. The balance was always good, people buy their main stage tickets and we knew we could do the day time stuff because the money was available. When that money shifts, you’re forced to consider what’s must important to us and the day time is critical to us.”

One difference patrons will notice this year is that 61 per cent of the lineup is fronted by a feminine or non-binary artist. Music festivals are often known for having masculine heavy lineups yet Butel managed to fashion a lineup that runs against the industry norm. The roster includes artists like Neko Case, Tanya Tagaq, Ndidi Onukwulu, Eekwol and T-Rhyme.

When talking about the lineup composition, Butel stressed that the feminine or non-binary artists are on the main stage because of their ability and not just their gender.

“Totally. Totally. Because we’re all about this diversity factor, I worked harder to make sure those artists are there because of their merit but also making sure that people get introduced to new music and that there’s support for it,” said Butel. “We want to support those artists so they continue to develop. There’s a lot of stuff involved in making more room everybody.”

Walk Off The Earth is the Friday night headliner at the 2018 Regina Folk Festival.

The festival isn’t restricted to its main location in Victoria Park. On Aug. 12 the festival will hold a free yoga class and acoustic jam session in Central Park with Michael Franti, who is the Sunday night headliner. The festival also offers After Dark Parties on Saturday and Sunday at The Exchange.

“It’s an opportunity for those people who aren’t done when the festival ends. Midnight is kind of earlier for some people to quit the party so The Exchange is a nice space to continue in.” said Butel.

Tickets for the After Dark Parties are $10 for people with an RFF wristband and $15 for those without.

Adult passes for the festival are $120 plus applicable fees while passes for seniors (65 and over) and students are $110 plus applicable fees. Individual night tickets are $65 plus applicable fees. Tickets can be purchased online at reginafolkfestival.com or by phone at 1-888-732-1682.

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